GEORGE NEWS - The circle of victims that have been scammed by a man who goes by the name of either Thomas Grey or Kevin Adams, seems to be getting bigger by the day.
Since George Herald published a story about this highly calculated scammer on our website last week, more victims have contacted the newspaper to tell us their story.
And one thing is clear, this scammer leaves nothing but disaster in his wake.
Tough times open season for scammers
Times are tough and the job market is flooded with desperate people looking for work. And in some cases, their desperation for work overrides red flags and the possibility of being scammed, or worse.
In recent weeks, and as recent as Monday 22 August, George Herald received a number of complaints about the latest cold-blooded scam doing the rounds. A scammer who preys on female job seekers and private car sellers without giving a dime about who he takes down as collateral damage.
The modus operandi in these cases is exactly the same and points toward a highly calculated vehicle theft operation or something even bigger.
The so-called employer presents himself under the alias of either Grey or Adams, pretending to be an affluent businessman from Johannesburg opening a branch in George.
Making contact
Currently it's unclear how the scammer finds the contact details of his victims, but it is believed that he somehow hacks into data bases of recruitment companies and employment websites as all the victims have previously registered with such companies.
Once he identifies a victim, he contacts her about a vacancy at his company to act as a sales representative in the Garden Route area for the new branch in George.
He tells them that he does not yet have offices in George, but that there is an existing warehouse and many prospective clients. He offers a basic salary of R15 000, a cellphone, laptop, company car and garage card.
In George, this package is in the higher income bracket, which under normal circumstances would sound too good to be true, but it doesn't seem far-fetched if you're under the impression that you are dealing with a businessman from Johannesburg.
All interviews and appointments are made via telephone, WhatsApp or email. Not one of his victims has ever physically met their "prospective boss".
Two legs
The scam consists of two legs. The first one is to find and "appoint" the new sales representative. The second part is where it becomes interesting and how the scammer seemingly uses his "employees" to unwittingly steal and move cars for him.
Once the appointment is made, the new rep is sent out to look at a couple of cars which the scammer (their new "boss") tells them will be used by them to perform their duties. These cars are all offered for sale by private sellers as the scammer does not deal with car dealers at all.
When a vehicle is identified, a fake payment proof is sent to the seller and the rep is told to collect the car. These sellers are innocent, private vehicle owners who are selling their cars without any knowledge of said scammer or that they could be prospective victims as well.
If all goes well for the scammer, like it did in one of the cases George Herald is aware of, the rep collects the vehicle with its documentation from the seller and leaves.
She is happy because she has a car and can start to work. But, this excitement is short-lived as the scammer then tells the rep to leave the car at a specific location, normally in a parking lot of a shopping centre or a fuel station, as "his mechanic needs to check it out" or "signage has to be done".
The car gets dropped off at said location with keys and documentation left in the car and is never seen again. The scammer shuts down communication completely and all phone numbers, websites, email addresses cease to work. The man and the car disappear into thin air and the rep is left facing the music as she collected the car.
In some cases other appointed reps were told to pick up "their" vehicle where it had been dropped off and leave it at another location with the keys and documentation inside the car. The excuse is always the same - "the mechanic has to check it out" or "signage has to be done".
Collateral damage
A man from George phoned George Herald on Monday to tell his story of how his car was stolen and found in Wittedrift near Plettenberg Bay. However, his vehicle is now at Knysna police station and he cannot get it back.
When he told us his story, it became very clear that he was also scammed by "Thomas Grey".
"I sold my car to Thomas Grey. His rep picked it up from me after her boss sent me the payment proof, a payment proof that I now realise was fake. Once I realised I had been scammed and the payment was fake, I started looking for my car," he said.
The car was eventually found after it was reported as stolen.
"Once I realised what had happened, I phoned the rep who picked up the vehicle from me, but by that time she had already been told to drop it off somewhere else for their mechanic to have a look at.
"From there the car was picked up by someone else and allegedly dropped off in Wittedrift where I found it. It's all very deurmekaar. The police don't want to give me my car back as it was part of a criminal offence and I'm stuck without wheels or money to buy another vehicle," said the victim.
Rep 1
A woman from George did not only fall victim to the scammer, but also lost her previous job as she left to become a rep for "Kevin Adams".
"I was contacted by Kevin at the end of July. I was employed at that stage, but kept my options open and registered on a couple of employment websites. I don't know where he got my number, but he phoned me and told me about a position as a rep for the branch opening in George. I was going to tell him that I wasn't interested, but I opted to hear him out," she said.
The offer on the table of a basic salary of R15 000, a company car, a petrol card and a laptop was too good to resist.
She accepted the offer to start at the beginning of August and resigned from her job.
"In the beginning of August I still had no car. We kept in contact and he said that he was arranging transport for me, but he kept on backing out of deals because as soon as it came to payment he wouldn't transfer the monies immediately, so the sellers became suspicious and didn't want to carry on with the deal.
"On Friday 12 August, the seller of about the fourth car I had a look at, was waiting at my house for my boss to do the EFT. He sent the proof of payment, but when the seller had a closer look he realised that the funds were not made to be released immediately and backed out of the deal.
"My boss spent about an hour on the phone with the seller trying to convince him to release the vehicle and to trust him. He even said that I should take the vehicle and the owner should keep the papers.
"He then said he would reverse the payment and when it reflects in his account he will do an immediate payment to the seller, but in the meantime he should give me the car as this could take a couple of days. The seller didn't fall for this," she said.
Afterwards her "boss" told her he was coming to George over the weekend to meet up with her and sort out everything.
"He said his phone was going to be sent in for repairs. Since then he could not be reached at all. His website was removed and there is no way of contacting him," she said.
The jobless victim says she counts herself lucky. "Who knows what would've happened if I took the car or met up with him over the weekend?"
Rep 2
Another victim said she was contacted by Adams on 25 July. She was also interviewed and appointed telephonically and went to look at her first car in a township in George. The deal didn't happen and she offered to look for a vehicle at dealerships.
Adams however told her that he was not interested in buying a car from a dealership and only worked with private sellers.
On Thursday 11 August, she went to Plettenberg Bay to finally fetch a car that she could use for work - a car her boss claimed to have already paid for.
"When the payment proof came through, the seller noticed that the transfer stated 'standard' instead of 'immediate'. Kevin said he paid for the car and I trusted him, so I decided to take the keys and leave the car with the seller until the money reflected in his bank account.
Halfway home, Kevin phoned and told me to turn back and give the keys back to the seller. He said he was flying to George over the weekend and I would see him on Monday," she said.
On Friday she messaged him again to find out what was happening, but there was no answer and since Saturday his phone has been off and there has been no way of reaching him.
"Something felt weird, so I started doing some research. The address he gave me for his business shows to be a house in Tulisa Park, Johannesburg and all the images he used on his website were stolen from other sites. It's scary. He has copies of my ID, driver's licence and tax number. Who knows what he might do with it? Everyone is stressed about finding work and he seemed to be such a lovely guy."
Rep 3
"I'm also a victim," says a woman from Knysna. I was contacted by Thomas Grey in April this year and accepted the job as a sales rep for him. I collected the car he bought me at a garage in George," she said.
However, three days later Grey told her to sell the car because something was wrong with it.
"It wasn't new and he wanted a new car." After selling the car he gave me company banking details to transfer the money, which I did. He also said they were still busy with the warehouse in George and that I can start working on 1 May," she said.
However, four days later, the person whom she sold the car to phoned her and told her that he was pulled over at a roadblock and told that he was driving a stolen car.
"He demanded to be paid back. I phoned Thomas and he said his boss, a person called Marius, will sort out the issue. I never heard from him again," she said.
Unfortunately for this rep, the person who bought the car demanded his money back and he knows nothing about "Thomas Grey" as the rep sold him the car. "I opened a case but was told that it was closed at the end of July and I now owe this man R35 000."
More victims of "Thomas Grey"
Another victim says she applied for a job in October last year and was contacted by a man called Thomas Grey in December.
"All interviews happened over the phone and later that week he sent me an employment offer. He mentioned that his company is a big company now and opening another branch in George. I picked up a car that he apparently had bought and was told to drop it off in Mossel Bay for the mechanic to have a look at. On the way there I was pulled over by police who informed me that the car had been reported stolen and involved in criminal activity. I nearly went to jail for something I had nothing to do with," she said.
Victim 1 and 2 both intend to lay criminal charges against the scammer.
A media enquiry regarding the above has been sent to the police. George Herald is awaiting feedback. George Herald also attempted to contact Kevin Adams/Thomas Grey numerous times, without success.
A media enquiry regarding the Kevin Adams/Thomas Grey saga has been sent to the Hawks for feedback.
A page from the contract of employment that Kevin Adams/Thomas Grey sends to his prospective sales reps.
One of the fraudulent payment proofs that was sent to a car seller by Kevin Adams.
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